<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content=
    "application/xhtml+xml; charset=iso-8859-1" />
    <title>
      6.1.&nbsp;Introduction
    </title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="../stylesheets/lfs.css" type="text/css" />
    <meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.73.2" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="../stylesheets/lfs-print.css" type=
    "text/css" media="print" />
  </head>
  <body class="lfs" id="lfs-7.3">
    <div class="navheader">
      <h4>
        Linux From Scratch - Version 7.3
      </h4>
      <h3>
        Chapter&nbsp;6.&nbsp;Installing Basic System Software
      </h3>
      <ul>
        <li class="prev">
          <a accesskey="p" href="chapter06.html" title=
          "Installing Basic System Software">Prev</a>
          <p>
            Installing Basic System Software
          </p>
        </li>
        <li class="next">
          <a accesskey="n" href="kernfs.html" title=
          "Preparing Virtual Kernel File Systems">Next</a>
          <p>
            Preparing Virtual Kernel File Systems
          </p>
        </li>
        <li class="up">
          <a accesskey="u" href="chapter06.html" title=
          "Chapter&nbsp;6.&nbsp;Installing Basic System Software">Up</a>
        </li>
        <li class="home">
          <a accesskey="h" href="../index.html" title=
          "Linux From Scratch - Version 7.3">Home</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
    <div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
      <h1 class="sect1">
        <a id="ch-system-introduction" name="ch-system-introduction"></a>6.1.
        Introduction
      </h1>
      <p>
        In this chapter, we enter the building site and start constructing
        the LFS system in earnest. That is, we chroot into the temporary mini
        Linux system, make a few final preparations, and then begin
        installing the packages.
      </p>
      <p>
        The installation of this software is straightforward. Although in
        many cases the installation instructions could be made shorter and
        more generic, we have opted to provide the full instructions for
        every package to minimize the possibilities for mistakes. The key to
        learning what makes a Linux system work is to know what each package
        is used for and why you (or the system) may need it.
      </p>
      <p>
        We do not recommend using optimizations. They can make a program run
        slightly faster, but they may also cause compilation difficulties and
        problems when running the program. If a package refuses to compile
        when using optimization, try to compile it without optimization and
        see if that fixes the problem. Even if the package does compile when
        using optimization, there is the risk it may have been compiled
        incorrectly because of the complex interactions between the code and
        build tools. Also note that the <code class="option">-march</code>
        and <code class="option">-mtune</code> options using values not
        specified in the book have not been tested. This may cause problems
        with the toolchain packages (Binutils, GCC and Glibc). The small
        potential gains achieved in using compiler optimizations are often
        outweighed by the risks. First-time builders of LFS are encouraged to
        build without custom optimizations. The subsequent system will still
        run very fast and be stable at the same time.
      </p>
      <p>
        The order that packages are installed in this chapter needs to be
        strictly followed to ensure that no program accidentally acquires a
        path referring to <code class="filename">/tools</code> hard-wired
        into it. For the same reason, do not compile separate packages in
        parallel. Compiling in parallel may save time (especially on dual-CPU
        machines), but it could result in a program containing a hard-wired
        path to <code class="filename">/tools</code>, which will cause the
        program to stop working when that directory is removed.
      </p>
      <p>
        Before the installation instructions, each installation page provides
        information about the package, including a concise description of
        what it contains, approximately how long it will take to build, and
        how much disk space is required during this building process.
        Following the installation instructions, there is a list of programs
        and libraries (along with brief descriptions of these) that the
        package installs.
      </p>
      <div class="admon note">
        <img alt="[Note]" src="../images/note.png" />
        <h3>
          Note
        </h3>
        <p>
          The SBU values and required disk space includes test suite data for
          all applicable packages in Chapter 6.
        </p>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="navfooter">
      <ul>
        <li class="prev">
          <a accesskey="p" href="chapter06.html" title=
          "Installing Basic System Software">Prev</a>
          <p>
            Installing Basic System Software
          </p>
        </li>
        <li class="next">
          <a accesskey="n" href="kernfs.html" title=
          "Preparing Virtual Kernel File Systems">Next</a>
          <p>
            Preparing Virtual Kernel File Systems
          </p>
        </li>
        <li class="up">
          <a accesskey="u" href="chapter06.html" title=
          "Chapter&nbsp;6.&nbsp;Installing Basic System Software">Up</a>
        </li>
        <li class="home">
          <a accesskey="h" href="../index.html" title=
          "Linux From Scratch - Version 7.3">Home</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>
